PMQs: David Cameron grilled on Europe in the Commons - as it happened

• David Cameron answers questions in the Commons just days before his speech on the EU• The Prime Minister also faces questions on the Government's pension reforms• It comes on the day Tory MPs throw down the gauntlet to Mr Cameron on Europe• Email me on peter.dominiczak@telegraph.co.uk or tweet me your thoughts @peterdominiczak

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12.48 That's all from today's PMQs live blog. Thanks for joining us.

12.42 Here is the verdict of Tim Ross, the Telegraph's political correspondent:

Nobody wins when Ed and Dave go to war over Europe. The Prime Minister's still unspoken speech on Europe dominated the clashes between Ed Miliband and David Cameron in the Commons today. The PM's red faced fury showed the pressure is beginning to tell. Britain's place in the EU has been truly toxic for the Tories in the past and nearly destroyed John Major's government.The rise of Ukip, the demands of his vocal backbenchers and the menace of divisions inside the Cabinet leave the PM in a tight spot. But Ed Miliband has an equally slippery task managing his own party and defending his own tortured policy.For there is a sizable number of eurosceptics on the opposition benches too. Jon Cruddas, the Labour MP running Ed Miliband's policy review, still supports an immediate referendum on Britain's membership of the EU, a position further to the right than many Tories.He is backed by others but this is not Labour policy. Douglas Alexander, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, has the unenviable task of trying to explain what that policy is as his party leader struggles.But what will the public make of yet more politicians droning on about the EU, that sprawling place over the sea full of Belgians making boring rules? They may choose to watch the snooker instead.

&lt;noframe&gt;Twitter: Ed Balls - When David Cameron gets so desperate he has to claim Labour wants Britain to join the single currency, you know he's really losing it..&lt;/noframe&gt;

12.39 Adam Boulton, of Sky, said Ed Miliband had the best of the exchanges on Europe:

&lt;noframe&gt;Twitter: Adam Boulton - &lt;a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=PMQs" target="_blank"&gt;#PMQs&lt;/a&gt; EM had best of Qs and jibes over Europe speech, Clegg looking on POed. DC pushed scepticwards, needs to do better on Friday&lt;/noframe&gt;

12.37 Tim Shipman, of the Daily Mail, tweets that Mr Cameron may face a backlash from backbenchers over his EU policy:

&lt;noframe&gt;Twitter: Tim Shipman (Mail) - Cam is right: Labour don't have a credible EU policy. But if the glum Tory faces behind Dave today are anything to go by they won't need one&lt;/noframe&gt;

12.33 Mr Cameron ends by saying that Labour does not "want to listen to the British people or businesses" on Europe.

12.32 More from the Telegraph's Tim Ross in the Commons:

Lots of crossness in the Commons. Miliband angers Cameron by saying he's lost control of his party. Then the PM scores a rare success in winding up Labour by bellowing back that the public should vote Labour to join the euro. The opposition benches erupt in fury. Despite his own volume, Cameron can't make himself heard and the Speaker has to calm everyone down.

12.30 Another question on Europe and whether the PM is taking us towards an eventual exit. Mr Cameron saysthe most dangerous thing for this country would be to "bury our head in the sand". He said it would be a disaster to "see the changes taking place in Europe because of the single currency and stand back and say we're not going to do anything about it".

12.28 Hugh Baylet hits out at a proposal in the Fresh Start document to take the UK out of EU equal pay rules. Mr Cameron says the Tories have "massively helped women through the single tier pension". However he says he will look "very carefully" at the Fresh Start proposals.

12.26 A question on the NHS and waiting times for operations. Mr Cameron says that there are 5,000 more doctors and 5,000 fewer administrators in the NHS. "The NHS is improving under this Government because we're putting the money in," he says.

12.23 After a question on diabetes, Mr Cameron says he understands how difficult it is for people to bring up their children without giving them "excessive amounts" of fizzy drinks.

12.20 Labour's Jeremy Corbyn asks whether it is time to regulate private sector rents. Mr Cameron says the Tories inherited a system of housing benefit in London that was "completely out of control". Mr Cameron adds: "I don't support the idea of mass rent controls... what we need is proper regulation of housing benefit."

12.19 Sky's Joey Jones said Ed Miliband hit home with a number of his arguments on Europe:

12.18 Tim Ross, the Telegraph's political correspondent, has this from inside the Commons:

Nice opening from Ed Miliband, asking if the PM is pleased that the Tories no longer waste their time "banging on about Europe". Even David Cameron chuckles, and a few Tory MPs like the joke too. Then, without blinking, or a trace of irony, the PM somewhat rashly claims that on Europe: "I know where I stand, I know where the party stands."

12.17 After a question on today's helicopter crash, Mr Cameron confirm that flights over central London will now have to be "looked at" following the accident.

12.15 A question on the news that traces of horse meat were found in supermarket burgers. Mr Cameron says it is a "very important" and "extremely serious" issue. "That is extremely disturbing news," Mr Cameron adds. He says he has asked the Food Standards Agency to conduct an "immediate investigation".

12.14 Labour MP David Lammy asks a question on tax credits. Mr Lammy says the Prime Minister has made "families poorer". Mr Cameron says the Tories have protected people on the lowest incomes.

12.13 "If you want to give power to Brussels you vote Labour, says Mr Cameron. He adds that Mr Miliband does not "believe the British people should be given a choice".

12.12 James Kirkup of the Telegraph points out that Mr Cameron failed to properly answer Mr Miliband's question on whether we will still be in the EU in five years

&lt;noframe&gt;Twitter: James Kirkup - Early guess, but DC's failure to answer the "UK still in Europe in 5 yrs?" question may be the most significant take-away from &lt;a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=pmqs" target="_blank"&gt;#pmqs&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/noframe&gt;

12.10 Mr Miliband says the Prime Minister has "lost control of his party". He says Mr Cameron's problems will not end on Friday after his speech. "They are only just beginning," he says.

12.08 Mr Miliband says committing to a referendum would be an "unnecessary gamble". "What business wants in Europe is what I want in Europe," Mr Cameron says. The PM says he wants a more "flexible" EU that will make it more competitive. "That is our approach" he says, asking Mr Miliband to tell the Commons what his view is.

12.08 The Telegraph's Deputy Political Editor James Kirkup points out that Mr Cameron is having some issues with his hair:

&lt;noframe&gt;Twitter: James Kirkup - In &lt;a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=pmqs" target="_blank"&gt;#pmqs&lt;/a&gt;, it's clear that life is only getting harder for No 10 Hair Unit. Can't see DC making it to 2015 without coming out as a baldy.&lt;/noframe&gt;

12.05 Mr Miliband says investors want to know if we will still be in the EU in five years. Mr Cameron replies with a dig at Ed Balls, who got the support of his leader over the weekend, and says he believes the UK should stay in Europe.

12.03 Ed Miliband starts with a question on Europe. He points out that Mr Cameron started his leadership of the Tories by saying they had spent too long "banging on about Europe". That gets a big laugh in the Commons. Mr Cameron says we should not "sit back, do nothing and say the public can go hang".

12.01 PMQs begins with a question on pensions on stay-at-home mothers. Mr Cameron says his announcement of a single tier pension is an "excellent reform". He says it will give millions of people "dignity in retirement".

11.58 Nigel Farage has just said Mr Cameron was trying to "deflect" the EU issue for five years but predicted that the longer the debate went on the more likely it was to end in a UK exit. The eurosceptic MEP told the European Parliament:

He wants to renegotiate the EU's deal, he wants us to have an 'a la carte' menu. Well, you may give him some concession and you may not. His real plan is of course to deflect all of this so that there's not a referendum for five years. That or not, actually the longer this debate goes on, the more likely the UK is to leave the European Union, and this debate will not stop. And I'm pleased to say that democracy, the arguments for democracy, they are now staging a fightback, and I look forward to when the United Kingdom does get that referendum and I hope that many other countries will follow our lead, including Ireland, in claiming back their rights of democracy and self government."

11.55 Douglas Alexander tells the Daily Politics he has never placed a bet in his life.

11.52 London Mayor Boris Johnson has said he is "very saddened to learn of the fatalities and injuries in today's helicopter crash". He says his "thoughts are with the victims and their families".

11.48 Health Minister Dan Poulter backs elements of the Fresh Start report on the Daily Politics, while Labour's Douglas Alexander says now is not the time to commit to an in-out referendum

11.43 Andrea Leadsom, one of the leaders of the Fresh Start group of MPs, is on the BBC's Daily Politics. She says leaving the EU would be a "disaster" for the British economy but says she wants powers to be repatriated.

11.40 David Cameron was " very saddened to learn" about the deaths and injuries in today's helicopter crash in Vauxhall, his spokesman has said ahead of PMQs.

11.37 Benedict Brogan, the Daily Telegraph's deputy editor, has this to say about the Fresh Start group of Tories today:

Even if, as is unlikely, Mr Cameron were to adopt all its suggestions - repatriation of all social and employment law, an opt-out from all policing and criminal justice rules, an emergency brake on new anti-City legislation and an end to the monthly shuttle between Brussels and Strasbourg - it is a stretch to imagine this agenda finding much favour across the Channel, despite Andrea Leadsom's optimism on Today. Will Fresh Start's members thank him for trying, or keep up the pressure?

11.31 The Telegraph today revealed a group of Conservative MPs wants David Cameron to seize back control of employment and social laws from Brussels and stop European nationals from claiming benefits in this country. Read our story here.

11.30 Welcome to the Prime Minister's Question Time liveblog for January 16 2012.